Post Tagged with: "Gladiator"

Top 20 Violent Best Picture Nominees

February 18, 2013 at 8:32 pm

The Athletic Nerd movies, screenwriting & independent film blog

Dramas, Musicals, Comedies, Action Movies…  So many worthy films have been recognized at the Academy Awards.  Films from all over the world.  Many for their portrayal of the human spirit.  Others for telling the true stories of remarkable people. Today, I focus on some of the more violent entries in the storied history of The Oscars.  Here are 20 of my all time favorites:

Where do your favorites rank?

20. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

Did it win? No

XTRA | 10 Flicks: Movies with Unanswered Questions

19. APOCALYPSE NOW

Did it win? No

18. RAGING BULL

Did it win? No

17. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

Did it win? Yes

16. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE

Did it win? No

15. TAXI DRIVER

Did it win? No

14. THE EXORCIST

Did it win? No

13. THE DEPARTED

Did it win? Yes

11. THE GODFATHER PART II

Did it win?  Yes

10. JAWS

Did it win? No

9. THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS

Did it win?  Yes

8. GANGS OF NEW YORK

Did it win? No

7. BRAVEHEART

Did it win?  Yes

6. ROCKY

Did it win?  Yes

5. SAVING PRIVATE RYAN

Did it win? No

4. GOODFELLAS

Did it win? No

3. GLADIATOR

Did it win?  Yes

2. PULP FICTION

Did it win? No

1. THE GODFATHER

Did it win?  Yes

Click here for more Movie Countdowns

XTRA | Top 10 Best Picture Nominees that LOST the Oscar

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10 Flicks: Best Original Screenplay Oscar Losers

February 23, 2012 at 12:52 pm

10 Flicks: Screenwriting Oscar Losers | Movie Blog | Academy Awards

Best Original Screenplay.

My favorite Oscar category.  The award every screenwriter aspires to win someday.  Like any Oscar category there will always be losers who deserved their nomination but didn’t quite get there.

Here are the Top 10 Best Original Screenplay Losers:

Inglourious Basterds

by Quentin Tarantino

LOST TO: The Hurt Locker by Mark Boal

Braveheart

by Randall Wallace

LOST TO: The Usual Suspects by Christopher McQuarrie

Monster’s Ball

by Milo Addica and Will Rokos

LOST TO: Gosford Park Julian Fellowes

Gladiator

by David Franzoni, John Logan and William Nicholson

LOST TO: Almost Famous by Cameron Crowe

In Bruges

by Martin McDonagh

LOST TO: Milt by Dustin Lance Black

Finding Nemo

by Andrew Stanton, Bob Peterson and David Reynolds

LOST TO: Lost In Translation by Sofia Coppola

Pan’s Labyrinth

by Guillermo del Toro

LOST TO: Little Miss Sunshine – Michael Arndt

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Unforgiven

by David Peoples

LOST TO: The Crying Game by Neil Jordan

As Good As It Gets

by Mark Andrus (story and screenplay) and James L. Brooks

LOST TO: Good Will Hunting by Matt Damon & Ben Affleck

Rocky

by Sylvester Stallone

LOST TO: Network by Paddy Chayefsky

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The Athletic Nerd’s Movie Power Rankings 1-15

September 19, 2011 at 6:44 am

The Athletic Nerd Movie Power Rankings

Go to any major sports website and you will find Power Rankings.  A popular ranking system that lists every team in a league from best to worst.

Since I work for a sports network, it makes perfect sense to take that system and rank my favorite movies of all time.

Except I’m doing things a little differently.  These won’t be updated weekly. (That would be ridiculous) However, you will find links to stories I’ve written on the films in addition to trailers and bonus posts.

The Athletic Nerd Movie Power Rankings

Signs

M. Night Shyamalan’s film inspired me to become a better screenwriter.  There are definitely a ton of people out there who disagree with my number 1 pick but I stand by it.  I feel like writing every single time I see it.

The Dark Knight

Christopher Nolan created the greatest superhero movie of all time.

The Matrix

All three films are included in this pick.  Many people loved the first film but hated the trilogy as a whole but I disagree.  I didn’t love Revolutions but Reloaded was incredible.  Plus, you really can’t deny how amazing the first film was.  Outstanding.

A Few Good Men

My favorite screenplay.  I could watch those intense courtroom exchanges every single day.

Good Will Hunting

When it comes to compelling characters, Will Hunting ranks very high for me.

The Shawshank Redemption

I don’t think I’ve ever met a human being who didn’t like this movie.  Just saying.

Dumb & Dumber

My #1 favorite comedy.  The most quotable movie of all time amongst my circle of friends.

Toy Story

The first full length computer animated film is still the best.  Then they went and followed it up with 2 stellar sequels.

The Lord of the Rings

An unbelievable filmmaking achievement.  I watch every second of the trilogy AND the billion hours of special features at least once a year.

The Sandlot

A classic baseball movie.  For a movie nerd obsessed with sports, it doesn’t get much better than this.

Goodfellas

Of course Martin Scorsese has a place on this list.

A Beautiful Mind

I love fascinating characters and John Nash’s story is brilliantly brought to life by Russell Crowe and director Ron Howard.

Inception

Christopher Nolan.  His dream invading caper changed the way I’ll look at original screenplays forever.  The best movie of 2010.

Gladiator

It’s always a proud moment when your favorite movie wins the Oscar.  Russell Crowe appears twice in the top 15!  Not bad.

Garden State

I almost ignored this movie due to lack of interest.  That would have been a huge mistake on my part.

http://theathleticnerd.com/movies/rainy-sundays-the-sandlot
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10 Flicks: Great Action. Great Stories

May 24, 2011 at 7:33 am

10 Flicks: Great Action. Great Stories | Top 10 Action Movies With Great Stories | Movie Blog

Nothing beats a good action movie when the mood strikes and we all have our favorites.  A quick Google search revealed tons of ‘best action movies ever’ lists.  Obviously, there are classics that appear on many lists but it always depends on the fan.

It’s not enough for a film to be crammed with wall to wall explosions and fights for me.  The action has to drive a good story with characters we care about.  What good is a shootout if you don’t care who wins?

So while there are countless lists like this out there, action fans will agree that there is always time for a collection of fantastic action trailers!

XTRA | 10 Flicks: Horror Movies With Great Stories

Die Hard

Inception

Kill Bill Volume 1&2

Terminator 2

Speed

True Lies

Gladiator

Raiders Of The Lost Ark

The Matrix

The Dark Knight

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10 Flicks: Awesome Double Features

November 30, 2010 at 12:16 am

10 Flicks: Awesome Double Features

Double features.

We’ve all enjoyed movie marathons from time to time.  Matching two worthy movies together can be pretty challenging.  Sometimes it’s tough to decide which two go together.  Others are a little more obvious.

Some get inspired during the first movie and choose the next film accordingly.  Others plan ahead.  Some simply watch the same combos over and over again until they become cherished traditions.

Honestly, as I stared at my DVD collection, I could have easily named about 50 billion different combinations but  I had to stop somewhere.

What are some of your favorite double features?

Feel free to contribute by commenting below!

Here are some of my favorites:

[Note] I’m aware this list doesn’t really have 10 films…  I’m okay bending the rules every once in a while.

Patch Adams / As Good As It Gets

Gladiator / The Last Samurai

Happy Gilmore / Tommy Boy

Forrest Gump / Mr. Holland’s Opus

War Of The Worlds / Independence Day

Saving Private Ryan / We Were Soldiers

Speed / True Lies

Labyrinth / The Dark Crystal

Snatch / Pulp Fiction

The Bourne Identity / Casino Royale

Goodfellas / Casino

The Shawshank Redemption / The Green Mile

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